08/31/2026
Some of the most dangerous horses I’ve worked on have been spoiled.
When people see a horse attack, they automatically assume the horse was abused, that the handler/trainer did something that caused the horse to feel “threatened.” They aren’t dogs or cats and shouldn’t be treated as such. They are PREY animals. They don’t behave as predators do, nor does humanizing them help in the slightest.
As a hoof care provider and horse trainer, I’m here to tell you that the most dangerous horses who have “come at me” have all been spoiled. The horses that are given treats and kisses when the owner thinks they’re scared, when in reality they’re exhibiting dominance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been under a horse trimming when the horse randomly kicks, licks his lips and waits for the treat. The horse wasn’t scared. He was bored and didn’t want to stand anymore. The owner gives him his shushes, pets him and gives him the treat.
This is TEACHING aggressive behavior that will escalate into something much worse, and unfortunately that’s what horse “enthusiasts” on social media unknowingly push for, who then push for policies that will further get the horse hurt, let alone other people. It creates instances where the horse becomes unpredictable. They can go from perfectly normal to attacking without reason. They can just decide they don’t want you there, and their response is to attack because that’s what they’ve been taught through lack of training and setting appropriate boundaries.
When it comes to horses, ignorance IS NOT bliss.
I would honestly rather work with a horse that’s been abused than spoiled. The abused horse may kick out of fear, but rarely are they aggressive, whereas the spoiled horse is almost ALWAYS aggressive in some form or another.
Horses are LIVESTOCK. They can be your pet, but at the end of the day they’re 1,200lbs of unpredictable muscle that should be respected as livestock. They can go from sweet to breaking your arm (or worse) in the blink of an eye with zero effort. They can go from calm to throwing you like a ragdoll without a single warning.
And yes, horses are more than capable of being born with screws loose, just like any other living thing, and it’s these horses who unfortunately end up in the hands of people who have no business owning horses, who pass them along to others who also have no business around horses until someone gets hurt.
Whether a dangerous horse was created by people or not, the appropriate response is humane euthanasia. That’s the harsh reality of being proper stewards over the animals we chose to care for. It costs the same to feed a bad horse as it does a good one, so make sure you’re finding the right horse for your level, not your su!cidal empathy.
We can all agree that horses are majestic and have captured the hearts and minds of people for hundreds of years, but that doesn’t mean we can give bad behavior a pass, let alone the dangerous ones.
What has hurt the horse more, especially in recent years, is the enthusiast, the people who know very little or nothing at all who have taken control of the conversation. Until the HORSEMEN step up and put their foot down, horses will continue to suffer under the controlling thumb of the uneducated.
